Written Answers

Thursday 20 July 2000

Scottish Executive

Fisheries

Mr Alex Salmond (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make allowances for "safety tonnage" such as additional shelterdecks when tonnage on new and modernised fishing vessels is recorded.

Mr John Home Robertson: Council Decision 97/413/EC allows member states to seek an increase in their MAGP targets to take account of safety and similar improvements.

  We are prepared to consider any requests from the fishing industry to take account of this provision but the approval of the European Commission will also be required.

Food Labelling

Dr Winnie Ewing (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans for local labelling of beef products.

Ross Finnie: Council Regulation (EC) No 820/97 of 21 April 1997 allows operators, subject to approval from my department, to label beef voluntarily with information concerning its place of production.

  This regulation will be superseded by a Compulsory Beef Labelling Regulation, currently under negotiation, which will also provide for the continuation of the Voluntary Scheme. The new regulation will also permit Protected Geographic Indications and Protected Designation of Origins such as Scotch and Orkney Beef to continue.

Fuel Prices

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to make financial assistance available to independent rural petrol stations in respect of any additional costs in replacing their existing price display boards which may result in the event that petrol prices exceed £1 per litre.

Sarah Boyack: The Rural Petrol Stations Grant Scheme helps rural petrol stations with the cost of replacing tanks and pumps, meeting groundwater protection needs and installing tanks and dispensers for the sale of Liquid Petroleum Gas. There are no proposals to extend the criteria for the scheme.

Further Education

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what it estimates will be the cost of upgrading Glasgow’s further education colleges to 21st century standards.

Henry McLeish: The Scottish Further Education Funding Council is responsible for the funding of Scotland’s further education colleges. It has commissioned an estate condition survey of every college, including those in Glasgow, which are now nearing completion.

Genetically Modified Crops

Alasdair Morgan (Galloway and Upper Nithsdale) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it intends to take to protect (a) the environment and (b) non-GM crops from cross-pollination of GM contaminated oil seed rape.

Ross Finnie: The Advisory Committee on Releases into the Environment have assessed the crop as posing very low risks to the environment and, on that basis, are satisfied that this does not pose a safety threat. On the basis of the information currently available, our understanding is that the GM element of the contaminated crop has extremely low male fertility and its ability to cross-pollinate with other plants is therefore negligible.

Health

Margaret Jamieson (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to ensure that all patients are provided with product information for drugs prescribed and dispensed.

Susan Deacon: The Executive supports the aim of providing all patients with full and useful information about prescribed and over-the-counter medicines. UK law requires medicines to be supplied to consumers with specified information on the label and with an accompanying leaflet to ensure safe and correct use. There has therefore been a general move by manufacturers towards supplying medicines in packs which have patient information leaflets sealed into them.

Health

Kay Ullrich (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what special services are available to sufferers of ME.

Susan Deacon: This information is not held centrally.

  It is for health boards and NHS Trusts to plan and provide services which best meet the needs of their local populations.

  However, a UK Working Group on ME was established in January 1999. The purpose of the group is to review the management of care for ME sufferers with the aim of providing best practice guidance for professionals, patients and carers and to improve the quality of care and treatment for those with ME. The Scottish Executive Health Department has representatives on the group and will make recommendations to Ministers in due course on whether the guidance should also be issued in Scotland.

Health

Dr Winnie Ewing (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average estimated cost is per week in the Highlands and Islands Health Board of caring for an elderly patient in (a) a hospital and (b) a nursing home.

Susan Deacon: The information for the cost of providing geriatric continuing care services in 1998-99 is shown in the table below:

  


Geriatric continuing care services


Cost per inpatient per week 
(£)




Highland Health Board


1,016




Western Isles Health Board


974




Orkney Health Board


771




Shetland Health Board


965




  Source: Scottish Health Service Costs, Year ended 31 March 1999 (SFR 5.3).

  (a). Information on the cost of nursing home care is not centrally available.

Holyrood Project

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to questions S1W-6451 by Mr Jack McConnell on 16 May 2000 and in the light of the finalisation of the Holyrood design, what roadworks will need to take place as a result of the location of the new Parliament building at Holyrood; how much such roadworks are expected to cost, and how much the landscaping of the surrounding area is expected to cost.

Mr Jack McConnell: External works proposals are not yet finalised, and firm cost estimates are therefore not available. £2.5 million has been made available to Historic Scotland for works in Holyrood Park likely to be required this year. In addition, the Scottish Executive Development Department has been discussing with Edinburgh City Council financial requirements for the roadworks. Future expenditure will be considered in the expenditure review.

Influenza

Mr Duncan Hamilton (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what specific measures it will implement to encourage the take-up of flu vaccinations and what resources will be used for a public awareness campaign.

Susan Deacon: Publicity to accompany the flu vaccination programme is currently being considered by Scottish Executive Health Department officials and by the Winter Performance Group, which comprises a range of external professionals and NHS interests. I shall make an announcement on final plans later this year.

Influenza

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many deaths among the over 65s in winter 1999-2000 can be attributed to the influenza outbreak.

Susan Deacon: It is not possible to give a precise answer. Even during a major influenza outbreak, it is relatively rare for the underlying cause of death to be classified as influenza because doctors do not often mention influenza on the certificate of cause of death. Provisional returns for the three months December 1999 to February 2000 show that influenza was mentioned for 164 deaths of persons aged 65 and over. Influenza was classified as the underlying cause of death for 137 of these. It is known that deaths from a number of other causes, notably pneumonia and other respiratory conditions, increase significantly during a period of high influenza activity. However, there is no standard method of associating a proportion of these extra deaths with influenza.

New Deal

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many young people in Clydesdale have found work through the New Deal since its introduction.

Henry McLeish: Employment Policy is reserved to the UK Government which therefore takes the lead on the funding and delivery of New Deal throughout Great Britain, although in close consultation with its partners, including the Scottish Executive.

  442 young people have found work in the constituency of Clydesdale since the introduction of New Deal (end-March 2000 figures).

New Opportunities Fund

Fiona McLeod (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether local authorities are receiving additional funding to enable cover to be provided in public libraries and schools while librarians and teachers receive ICT training under the New Opportunities Fund.

Peter Peacock: Local authorities are integrating the New Opportunities Fund training into their ongoing staff development programmes, and in some cases innovative approaches to delivery are helping to reduce the need for cover.

Rail Network

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what support and investment it intends to provide for the establishment of a Glasgow Airport direct rail link.

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions have taken place with the various transport authorities concerning the establishment of a direct rail link to Glasgow Airport.

Sarah Boyack: I refer Ms White to my answer to question S1O-1648.

Rail Network

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what support and investment it intends to provide for the establishment of a north/south Glasgow crossrail service.

Sarah Boyack: I refer Ms White to my answer to question S1W-7899.

Road Safety

Nick Johnston (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what encouragement it will give to local authorities to develop safe access to primary and secondary schools such as cycle paths, safe footpaths and non-vehicular access provision.

Sarah Boyack: Guidance on How to Run Safer Routes to School was issued to each local authority and all schools in Scotland last December. The guidance provides practical advice to all those involved in the journey to school and will help enable safer routes schemes to become more widespread in Scotland. This will contribute significant improvements to the health, safety and social development of our children.

  On 25 May I announced in response to question S1W-5262 that local authorities in Scotland would receive additional capital consents totalling £5.2 million to take forward work on the implementation of safer routes to school schemes in the current financial year. The allocation to each local authority is set out below.

  The Scottish Executive is supporting a major conference on the issue of Safer Routes to School, which is being run jointly by the Cycling Charity SUSTRANS and Glasgow City Council. The conference takes place in Glasgow on 4 September and I shall be giving the keynote address.

  Finally, the Scottish Executive is to set up the Scottish School Travel Advisory Group (Scottish STAG) which will consider, among other things, the report of the UK School Travel Advisory Group and make recommendations on how the report’s conclusions can best be taken forward in Scotland.

  


Local Authority 


Allocation for Safer Routes to School
£000 




Aberdeen City 


200 




Aberdeenshire 


205 




Angus 


109 




Argyll & Bute 


109 




Borders 


108 




City of Edinburgh  


467 




City of Glasgow 


674 




Clackmannanshire 


48 




Dumfries & Galloway 


140 




Dundee City 


145 




East Ayrshire 


120 




East Dunbartonshire 


114 




East Lothian 


89 




East Renfrewshire 


89 




Falkirk 


142 




Fife  


345 




Highland  


215 




Inverclyde 


93 




Midlothian 


84 




Moray 


85 




North Ayrshire 


150 




North Lanarkshire 


334 




Perthshire & Kinross 


132 




Renfrewshire 


185 




South Ayrshire 


113 




South Lanarkshire 


309 




Stirling 


86 




West Dunbartonshire 


98 




West Lothian 


151 




Western Isles 


37 




Shetland Islands 


0 




Orkney Islands 


25 




Total 


5,200

Scottish Executive Publications

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many copies of the report of the Renewing Local Democracy Working Group have been published, and whether it will list those individuals and organisations to which it has been distributed.

Mr Frank McAveety: 4,000 copies of the report of Renewing Local Democracy Working Group were published. The report is also on the Internet and has had over 800 visits, it can be found at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library2/doc16/rldw-00.asp.

  The distribution list runs to 110 pages and I will write to the member separately with this.

Scottish Executive Publications

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many copies of the consultation document Better Homes for Scotland’s Communities have been published, and whether it will list those individuals and organisations to which it has been distributed.

Ms Wendy Alexander: Copies of Better Homes for Scotland’s Communities , published on 5 July 2000, have been sent to all MSPs, Scottish MPs and MEPs, to all Scottish local authorities and registered housing associations, and to relevant Whitehall departments. Copies have also been sent to all respondents to the 1999 Housing Green Paper, and to a wide range of other representative organisations and interest groups. In addition, copies have been sent out on request to individuals and groups, and the document is available on the Scottish Executive website. The total number of copies distributed as of 10 July 2000 was around 1,600.

Skye Bridge Tolls

Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will undertake a review of the legal status of the Skye Bridge toll regime in the light of Professor Robert Black’s opinion.

Sarah Boyack: I refer the member to the answers I gave to questions S1W-8259 and S1W-8363.

Skye Bridge Tolls

Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, in respect of the Skye Bridge, why the Assignation Statement was not published in accordance with regulations SI 1991/2152.

Sarah Boyack: I refer the member to the answers I gave to questions S1W-4183 and S1W-8363.

Smoking

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action has been taken following the White Paper on Tobacco.

Susan Deacon: The Scottish Executive is committed to reducing the levels of smoking by people in Scotland. The White Paper Smoking Kills outlines a comprehensive range of measures which we are now taking forward. These include health education and promotion activity; improvement on enforcement measures relating to underage sales; a Voluntary Charter on Smoking in Public Places; allocation of funding to health boards to spend on smoking cessation services and nicotine replacement therapy, and legislation to ban tobacco advertising and sponsorship.

Social Inclusion Partnerships

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what powers it has to deal with any irregularities in relation to Social Inclusion Partnership funding.

Jackie Baillie: Grant payments made by the Scottish Executive in respect of expenditure by Social Inclusion Partnerships are governed by standard conditions of grant. It is for grant recipients to ensure that they comply with the conditions of grant, which include a requirement to ensure the propriety and regularity of all payments. Scottish Ministers may reduce, suspend or withhold payment of grant, or require all or part of the grant to be repaid if it appears that an activity, or any part of it, has not been undertaken in accordance with the terms and conditions or for the purposes intended.

Tourism

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is any correlation between the number of tourists visiting rural Scotland and fuel prices; if so, how many fewer tourists visit rural Scotland as a result of each one pence rise in the price of petrol and, if it does not hold this information, whether it will commission a research study on this topic.

Henry McLeish: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-8565.